Cottage Style Altered Art

Do you remember the sweet painting below that I bought at Goodwill last year? I liked it, I really did! But with my new found love of robin's egg blue, I just couldn't make the dark green and yellow background in the painting work for me. What to do?



With a little paint and a lot of nerve, I tackled the background myself. I also painted the frame a dark, chocolate brown.



I'm no artist but I know that it lacks the same depth, shadow, blending, and texture the original painting had, and I may continue tweaking in future...you know...as I save up a little more creative nerve:) For now, I'm just going to enjoy my new cottage style "altered art"!

"Pssst, Your Creativity is Showing" - Thanks Kari & Kijsa!

I want to send a loud, happy shoutout to Kari and Kijsa for featuring photos from my latest entry, Fun and Cozy Kitchen Projects in their new Monday segment called "Pssst, Your Creativity is Showing"! I feel so honored that they chose a couple of my projects to share with readers, and was thrilled as well that many stopped in to visit me here at my blog:) Welcome to you all and thank you, everyone, for your sweet, uplifting comments!

If you are interested in letting your creativity show, Kari & Kijsa encourage you to let them know! You can can visit their inspiring blog and contact them at ask@kariandkijsa.com. I know they would be thrilled to hear from you!

Cozy and Fun Kitchen Projects

When I'm not knee deep in piles of laundry or drywall dust, I might be making something fun like....

A "berry" red arrangement from my backyard to my window sill......



Or a cozy paper pennant to go above my kitchen sink.....






Or glittered letter magnets for my kitchen island....







Don't you agree that every once in a while, a girl just has to stop the world and...



What have you creative souls made lately? Please share and inspire me!

"Home" + An Easy Painted Word Project for Word Lovers

Home. Such a special place, or at least it should be. A place to leave your worries at the door, a place to relax, a place to love and to be loved. I suppose in a perfect world, every home would be free from tension and squabbles between it's members, but in reality, it exists at times if we aren't careful, especially when there are growing children who are finding and exerting their own independence and opinions. It seems that I'm constantly reminding my girls that though they may witness name calling, cattiness, disrespect, and unkindness at school and elsewhere, they are to never pick it up and bring it home with them. It tries to seep in daily, of course, but I hope that one thing that my kids remember when they leave home years from now is that they were never allowed to hurt each other with their words or actions, and whenever they did, they were corrected with consequences if necessary. I am just now reminded of a piece that I saw on Good Morning America yesterday. It was about a video uploaded on YouTube by a father who taped his toddlers hitting each other - while he encouraged them all the while.

We may not be able to prevent others from treating us unkindly elsewhere, but at home, we need to know that we are special, loved, needed, and respected. Don't we all need to know that we can always come back to a haven of peace and rest and security- our home - and that of the very few things that we can count on in life, we can at least count on that?!!!

Speaking of home, I wanted to share with all you word lovers a fairly easy project. You've seen Wallwords and Wonderful Graffiti, nifty sites where you can custom order vinyl letters, words, and phrases for any surface of your home...and I love the idea! Someday, I'm going to put in an order:) Until then, here's a great way to get the same look for pennies (and we're trying to save every one of those!). I found this technique many moons ago from another site but I don't remember where. If it looks familiar, please send me the link!

For this project, all you need to do is print out a word, phrase, or even an image in an a nice font. For the word that I used, HOME, I enlarged my font size to 400 in Microsoft Word. I cut off the excess paper and positioned it where I wanted it and marked the position lightly with a pencil. In my case, I chose our fireplace surround. It just needed something...But you might choose a wall, a piece of furniture, or just about anything paint will stick to.



Next, I colored the back of my printed word with a crayon. You'll want to color nice and hard and make sure you cover all of (the back of) the word. This coloring will serve the same purpose as carbon paper, really.



After I colored like crazy, I positioned my word on my our fireplace surround again, lining it up with the marks I made earlier. I taped it securely on all four sides, but I found that I ended up taking the tape on the bottom off so that I could lift the paper and see my progress as I worked. With a pencil, I traced my word with quite a lot of pressure. I actually had to trace twice because of the heavy texture on the surround. It helps to trace with an up-down motion (or side to side, depending on the direction you are tracing)...make a stroke up, retrace your stroke back down, then go up again, and so on.



When my tracing was complete, I removed my paper word template and with a very, very stiff, angled brush, I began to fill in with brown paint. This was a little tricky, but I took it really slow and used a tooth pick to "paint" in the hard to reach areas, and a toothpick with a wet tip to clean up any mistakes.



It's not exactly like the word I printed as I added a little more flourish to the H (not on purpose, though!) but it came out pretty well for my first try.



And finally, here is the finished look. I think I found the something I was looking for!



If you try this, please let me know - I'd love to see your project!

(Just want to add, I am not left handed as it appears in the photos. I needed my right hand to hold the camera and just "posed" with my left hand so you could get the idea...I can't imagine how this project would have turned out if tried using my left hand for real!)

Who I Haven't Forgotten...

You, dear readers. Though I'm sure you may have thought that I had.

For those that have followed my blog for years or have blogs of your own, you know that sometimes this happens - this business of going for weeks without a single update.

In my excitement over my studio room redo and my just knowing that at least this project would be quick and painless and over with in no time flat, I failed to remember that it would take an act of the Almighty for us to work through any remodeling plans in a timely manner and without a hitch. Can I just say that hubs and I have had many serious "discussions" over the s l o w progress of our cottage in the making. We seem to have two different views, many times, of how quickly a project should move along. Between real work and life, the reality is that maybe in a months time, five to eight hours may be dedicated to a project. So this is my reality and it has been since we've moved here. I think had I known this is the way it would be, I would have been content to live in our regular 70's made ranch just the way it was. But who knows...maybe when we are finally finished, I'll be glad that we struggled through each and every project, large and small. Maybe I'll say..."It was all worth it." Maybe I'll say that it was ok that we lived with a gutted bathroom for five years because once we finally finished, it was all that I could have ever wished for. Maybe I'll be glad that we lived for years without any real flooring as our beautiful hardwood sat untouched in the garage while we finished up the "dirty work" inside. Just know that right now I am extremely envious of all of you who are able to complete remodeling project from start to finish in a reasonable amount of time. You have my undying admiration! We, however, are not one of those types of people.

So in my disappointment and discouragement, I couldn't bear to write and update my blog. I hope that you have been there or at least understand.

We had to paint the studio three times, of course. I ended up using a custom robin's egg blue that I created myself even before I had painted the swatches you saw in my last post. My color had a bit more green in it and a little less blue - which is what I wanted. We painted the whole room out and needed just one more coat but ran out of paint. But when we had another custom gallon mixed and on the walls, it wasn't the same color as what hubs had already cut in in the corners and along the trim. Soooo....we had to buy another gallon and paint the entire room again. Much better! A couple of weekends hub was out of town, so no real work in the studio took place because I cannot for the life of me paint trim without getting it on the walls. Hubs put the second coat of white trim paint on last weekend, thinking the painting would finally be *done*, but it still needs another coat. Though the steps and stoop have been primed, I'm going to hold off painting them until last because I don't won't hubs work boots marring them up. The fan and lights have been painted for weeks now and I've been dying to have them installed, but I guess I'm going to have to practice patience for a bit longer. I don't want to take photos of the studio so far until they are up and the last of the trim paint is done, but it has turned out nice so far. If you look at one of the photos of the kitchen below, you can get a sneak peak of the studio walls if you look through the french door to the right. Who knew red and robin's egg blue could work so well together?! I'm not going to make predictions on when we'll start building the work stations as hubs has another trip coming up. I just hold my breath and hope that we can begin sometime this month maybe. My plans to officially start my business this year have once again been foiled. Hubs says I should "create product" anyway, but that's not how I work when supplies and stuff are strewn everywhere because they don't have a home and proper organization - and it looks like all my "spare" time needs to be spent on trying to help him work on the room.

I do, however, have photos to share. Just little vignettes I photographed today and recently. I have a new found love of robin's egg blue and have begun collecting and making accessories to use throughout the cottage. Also, I've completed two Wilton cake decorating courses and wanted to share with you the last cake I made for class. I'm making a similar one today for hubs grandmother:)







I made these spools well over a year ago. I love words and old-fashioned style paper, so this was a nice way to bring the two elements together.





I painted the birds with my custom color but the creamer I found at Goodwill - it is my exact blue!



I thought about shooing this moth away before I took this shot, but she was frantically flying about the kitchen lights last night when I was baking some cookies...I was glad to see that she had found a peaceful, safe spot to rest so I left her:)







(This is the photo from which you can see the robin's egg blue studio walls...)






We worked on our cakes in class. We learned the basket weave technique and promptly applied it to our cakes. Mine leaves a lot to be desired, lol! My frosting softened too much as I held the decorating bag in my warm hands, but thank goodness for lots of flowers to cover it up!








Thanks for continuing to stop in and for all the emails and nudges I've received:) Thanks so much!

Studio Work Begins!

We started on my studio last weekend, and boy, what a lot of work! I'll be sure to post photos when there is something interesting to photograph:) For now, we've mainly been working on patching the walls and insulating the parts of the ceiling that weren't completely insulated. Work continues this weekend:) There were once sky lights in the studio room...and now there are just plywood "patches" that are quite the eyesores! We removed the skylights when we added a new roof a few years back and have been waiting to deal with the interior holes when we redo the ceiling. We're not ready for that, so I've had to come up with a creative way to make those square patches look like they belong. I finally decided that I would (try to) paint a pretty cloudy sky mural within each of the four squares and trim it out in a nice crisp white moulding. Hopefully the effect will realistic - we shall see! I hope to tackle that soon (this weekend or next) so I'll be sure to post some before and afters! I'm so anxious to have the studio finished because my materials and creations are taking over the rest of the house!

Hubs was also able to get around to mudding the seams of the new drywall in the hallway. Still lots of sanding, reapplying mud, sanding, etc., to go, but it looks sooo much better already! I can't believe we can walk down the hall now without seeing a single stud!

I've been experimenting with my faux creations and wanted to share one of them - a chocolate cupcake - with you...You can read more about it on my faux dessert blog if you like.











Thanks for dropping in! I hope everyone is doing well!

A Cupcake Laboratory

That's what my kitchen has become over the last few days - half bakery / half science lab! You see, I'm kicking it into high gear to really start producing my faux desserts for the opening of Lollishops toward the end of the year. More on that in a moment...

Well, I'm all better and up and at'em again! Unfortunately, after I recovered, two of my kidlets once again were sick. One (who had a fever for a day or so) complained once late at night that her ear bothered her...then her ear drum ruptured early the next morning! It was an ear infection we didn't even know she had - her first one ever in seven and a half years. The other one had a fever for several days - once up to 104.3, followed by bronchitis. She missed a week and half of school:( So it's been a tough month but we are ALL well now, thank goodness! Thank you to all those that stopped by and left well wishes - I really appreciate your kind words!

So...lately I've been dreaming about what kinds of things I want to make for my Lollishops store, and OH what fun! I went to Hobby Lobby last Saturday and had to keep reminding myself to focus on one or two products at a time...there are so many ideas spinning around in my head and it would be easy to leave a place like Hobby Lobby with a buggy load:) I picked up paint, pastel chalk, and three pretty glass cake plates of different sizes, from cake size down to cupcake size. They were half off and I couldn't resist!

I've been focusing for now on my cookies, candies, and cupcakes. I *wanted* to also be working on some sugared lollipops and sugared gumballs because they are so much fun, but there's only so much time in one weekend...*sigh*

I've used various recipes in the past for my faux cookies but haven't been completely thrilled with the cookies unless they were painted a yummy chocolatey color, which is fine - but not all cookies are chocolate. I basically needed a recipe that produced a cookie that looked delicious and natural right out of the oven and that only needed a clear coat sealer. I finally found it! I had some of my cookies on a cooling sheet the other day when my oldest daughter came home from school and she saw them and asked if she could have one, lol. (That's the tough thing about being a faux dessert maker and having kids...you do feel a *twinge* of guilt when you have to tell your kids that what they hoped was real was indeed fake, hehe. I do make plenty of real cookies, too, or else there would be a small uprising here!)

With my cupcakes, I've been trying to figure out how to make a realistic looking cupcake base - the actual cake portion of the cupcake. In the past I've used plaster and while it's easy to use and looks great piled high with yummy faux icing, I wanted something lighter weight and that wasn't flat on top - I wanted a bit of a rise like an actual cupcake. I experimented this weekend and am so excited that I think I've found it! Hubs was amazed (and it takes a lot to get a "Wow!" out of him!). I can't help but to think back to all the times I've spent pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to achieve a certain look or effect, using every product under the moon, and almost giving up. (And there will be many more times like that in the future!) I'm sure with many crafts, it's half art, half science experiment. You just never know if something will work until you try! My next "science experiment" will have to do with making faux fondant. I have my "ingredients" and tools but will have to see how it works out!

I'm also working on a new color palette. Chocolate is divine and I want to offer plenty of it, but in a place like Lollishops, there must be plenty of candy coated sweetness, don't you think? I've tested quite a few colors on some candy pieces and it looks like they are going to work! My girls especially loved the more "frou frou" looking candies. The same colors will be used on cupcakes, cookies, lollipops, etc. I've mostly only ever used red, white, cream, pink, and brown for my desserts, so I'm really excited about adding to my color palette!

On the home front, today a friend is coming to help hubs hang drywall in the hallway. Yay! One less area in our home with visible studs (and there are many!!)!!

But the most exciting news this week is that hubs gave me the go ahead last night to design my work studio! At this moment, the kitchen is slowly being overtaken by cupcakes and cookies as I work more on my desserts, and I have to have a place for all of it so that we can continue to function in there. BUT...here is the twist...

Ninety-five percent of my materials needed to create my studio will come from what we already have on hand in the garage. I need lots of shelving, a work table, seating, storage, and so on...and I want it to be pretty, of course:) So there will be a lot of trash to treasure projects to complete this makeover. I have some preliminary ideas already and hubs told me to give the plans to him when I'm done and we'll work on it together. When I'm able, I'll take a photo of the all the stuff I plan on using...from old woodend table legs to the bifold doors we removed from the dining room (you will probably think that I've lost my mind, hehe...but hopefully it will work out and also free up some space in our garage in the process!)

What I know I will have to buy is paint, some decorative trim for dressing up the shelving, and window treatments. The walls will probably be Malted Milk like the rest of our house so far and the furniture will all be white. For color, I've been dreaming about pretty long flowy curtains in a vintage or robin's egg blue. and the rest of the color will come from faux dessert displays. Ahhhh....

Wow, I wrote a novel! Thanks for popping in!

P.S

I may be having another much smaller online yard sale here in the next couple of weeks...probably less than 10 items:) Just a heads up!

P.S.S If you have haven't yet submitted your application to Lollishops, please do!

LolliShops: The FrouFrou Friendly Market Place

Have you heard of LolliShops yet? What is it exactly? From the Lollishops site...:

"LolliShops is a juried, online selling venue for talented artists, collectors of vintage and art supply vendors. LolliShops will appeal to those who love...

* Elegant Whimsy
* Romantic Inspirations
* Fanciful Creations

... artists will enjoy setting up their own, customizable store fronts while LolliShops patrons enjoy feeling like a kid in a Candy Store!"

I'm really excited about this new venue for crafters/collectors/artists and patrons who love whimsical, romantic, and fanciful type items. The site is projected to open near the end of October.

While you are visiting LolliShops, don't forget to check out the:
~LolliShops blog to stay up to date with the latest happenings
~LolliShops Flickr Photos to see samples of the beautiful work of the many Lollishop vendors that have been selected so far
~Pre-application if you would like to apply to LolliShops.

Also, even if you aren't interested in running a shop, you can help spread the word about LolliShops buy putting a button on your blog...you can just copy and paste the button coding from the bottom of the main LolliShop's page.

I hope you enjoy the site as much as I have so far - and it's not even "open" yet!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the homefront, little did I know the last time I posted that things were about to go downhill in a big way for me as far as my health goes. Hubs had been terribly sick as were a couple of the children, but I felt like I was holding my own though not feeling well (little twinges of congestion in my chest, tickles in my throat). I as I said in my last entry, I was just determined to rest when I could thinking I'd be back to my old self soon. Ha!

Let me tell you, I have been bed bound now since last Thursday morning. It turns out that I have acute Bronchitis. Goodness, talk about miserable! Up until today, I literally coughed probably 21 out of the 24 hours of the day. Any small movement, any attempt to speak even, would bring on a coughing fit to end all coughing fits - the really violent type of coughing fit where you can hardly catch your breath, your insides burn, your throat is irritated, your back and shoulders hurt, your abs throb, your gag reflux kicks in, and you feel like you've given yourself a hernia. My poor children thought I was dying:( I've been telling them all along that it wasn't as serious as that, but I guess physically, I looked to them like I must be on the brink of death! They'd get out of bed at night with very serious and concerned faces, sweet things, and come to my bedside..."Mommy, are you ok?!" When I came back from the doctor with my prescription strength medications, they needed to be reassured..."So you're going to live now???"

Hubs has been wonderful...he's done so much. Of course, I missed school registration and it was he who took the day off work and went in and filled out all the paperwork for three children, did the girls' shoe shopping, organized their backpacks for the first day of school, watered my flowers, did the laundry, took the kids to two parties this weekend, and so much more. He has admitted that it's very hard to be a "single" parent!

I would be remiss if I didn't admit that our little cottage does need a woman's touch again after being neglected by me for almost a week. With so many other important things needing to be taken care of by Hubs, the dusting and sweeping are low priority (though he did sweep and mop a couple of nights ago!) I'm really looking forward to being back on my feet again - and today I've felt better for the first time since all this began, not nearly as much coughing, thank goodness!

Charming Glass Jar Bank + Goodwill Treasures

If you're like me, you're always discovering spare change in the couch cushions, under furniture, or in pockets while doing laundry. I've never really been quite organized enough to collect and save found coins in a sensible fashion like most folks do, I'm sure, but a couple of months ago I thought it would be fun to have a special place to "bank" any change that we find lying about the house. So with a glass jar, some scrapbooking paper, buttons, and little bit of decorative trim, I made a sweet little coin jar to keep in the kitchen. The kids love depositing money into it and I like feeling a little more organized!

It is that time of year again - "going back to school" time. This past week we were busy doing all of our school shopping and now I'm in the process of getting the house ready for the new school year...things like cleaning out the kids' dresser drawers and closets, culling old clothes, and cleaning out the laundry room and fridge and other areas that will stay quite "hopping" throughout the busy school year. With all the activity that homework, projects, and school events adds to our schedule, I like to get the school year off to a fresh start here at home. Also, (and many of you have been asking me), I do still plan to get my faux dessert business off the ground before December and feel like I am so close to being ready here. But home and family have always come first so I've been waiting until I feel like I can in good conscience move forward with the business without neglecting other duties...and I'm almost there. I have a lot of fun ideas that I'm really looking forward to trying...stay tuned!

I will probably be scarce here for the next couple of weeks as we get ready for the new school year and as we get accustomed to a new routine all over again. We've also all been sick here and I think between cleaning and organizaing, I'm going to try and rest up so I can fully recover. Poor hubs has a coughing fit every time he moves...but fortunately, the kids were the first to get sick and the first to recover, so they are now enjoying what's left of their summer break.

Before I sign off, I thought I'd post a few photos of some Goodwill finds... Goodwill hunting is SO much fun!

Mostly vintage cookbooks....



Baskets...(you can't tell from the photo, but the largest basket is BIG!)


Metal plant containers with text about gardening...


An oil painting (I'm not sure if I like the frame or not, but the painting itself is sweet!)



Thank you for your kind comments about the painted trivets and the chocolate chip cookies! I'm glad you enjoyed the photos! Until next time... Have a great rest of the summer!